Bleach: Orange Blaze, Amber Flame 10: A Happy Volunteer Day
by YenGirl
Summary: The weather is turning cold so it's time to spread some warmth and cheer. Sequel to A Happy Birthday Again.


**Author Notes:** Hello again, everyone! Japan seems to have one or more festivals to celebrate every month, but as I've covered a couple of those, here's something a little different this time. But there will still be friendship, bonding, red bean paste and of course, some IchiHime. Enjoy :)

 **Warnings:** Fluff.

 **Rating:** T

 **Disclaimer:** Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo.

\- Story Start -

It was lunch break at Karakura High. Ichigo and his friends were sitting at their usual spot on the rooftop, enjoying the nice autumn day. The topic of interest today wasn't who had brought the best lunch or which movie to watch at the cinema this coming weekend, but the latest assignment their Social Studies teacher had just dropped on their heads.

They were to form groups of five and perform a four hour long voluntary service of their choice by the end of the month. The report from whichever organisation they helped would go towards their final grade together with past homework assignments. Each group would present a formal letter from the school, explaining that it was for a school assignment. In return, the organisation would submit a short report on each student's performance afterward.

"Voluntary service," Keigo mumbled, staring at the tuna sandwich in his hand as if hoping it would provide him with an answer. Then he brightened up. "Hey, I do lots of things for nee-chan. That counts, right?"

"But are they _voluntary?_ " Ishida asked with a smirk, pushing his glasses higher.

The others hid their smiles as Keigo scowled. Mizuho bullying her younger brother into fetching and carrying things for her was a well known fact.

"Sorry, Keigo. It has to be a registered non profit organisation," Orihime said as she passed out homemade rice balls with red bean filling. "Such as orphanages."

"Or animal shelters," Sado said.

"Or recycling centres," Tatsuki added.

"Or soup kitchens or old folks' homes or hospitals," Ishida listed a few more choices.

Keigo crammed the rest of his sandwich in his mouth and started ticking off the choices on his fingers, thinking over and discarding each one before going to the next. He came to the end of the list and looked up to see the others busy forming groups.

Ichigo, Orihime, Ishida, Sado and Tatsuki had already formed one. Mizuiro had joined four other girls to make up another.

"You guys didn't even wait for meeeeeeee!" Keigo wailed.

\- o -

As it was a relatively quiet week, Ichigo's group decided to complete their assignment this coming weekend. After school, they gathered at a nearby fast food outlet, ordered drinks and got started.

"Let's help an animal shelter," Sado suggested.

"Or an orphanage," Orihime said.

"I think a soup kitchen-" Ishida began only to be interrupted by Tatsuki.

"We should do something for the environment," she announced. "So I vote we help a recycling centre."

As their group grew noisier, Ichigo tapped on the table to catch their attention.

"I'm fine with any of those as long as we get it done this weekend," he stated.

Ishida cleared his throat.

"Why don't we start by making a list of the voluntary organisations in Tokyo?"

They agreed and did a quick search using their mobile phones, jotting down as many registered Non Profit Organisations as they could find. Then they searched the individual websites to find out which ones accepted high schoolers as volunteers, and had a project going on this weekend that they needed help with.

It turned out that the Tokyo branch of a nationwide food bank prepared and served hot meals at the local park every Saturday, and needed additional volunteers. Ishida called them up and was told they needed help to prepare the food on Friday evening and cook them on Saturday morning.

Although they only needed to clock up four hours' of work for their Social Studies class, Ishida registered their names for both sessions anyway.

Never let it be said that he did things halfway.

\- o -

After school on Friday afternoon, Ichigo's group had a quick meal before taking a bus to the food bank facility on the outskirts of Tokyo. Ichigo and Tatsuki had already informed their respective families they would be coming home later that night.

They made good time and arrived fifteen minutes before the work shift started. The manager, a friendly middle aged man, read their authorisation letter, compared their names with their student passes and thanked them for volunteering. He gave a brief explanation of the company's mission and objectives before taking them to the different sections.

One corner of the large warehouse-like building was the office. Another corner opened out onto a small road where all the donated food was delivered, either by pickup trucks or donors or other volunteers. Large shelves on one side held boxed goods and on the lowest shelves were bins for loose items. Beside the shelves were refrigerators for fresh produce and freezers for meat. Further back was a kitchen area where the food was washed, prepared and cooked. There were more shelves storing pots and pans and cooking utensils, and cupboards for stacks of reusable plates, bowls and cutlery.

To no one's surprise, Sado was asked to help with the unloading of goods. One of the regular volunteers had pulled a back muscle and there were two lorries on the way, loaded with sacks of rice and cartons of canned food from a factory. Tatsuki joined Sado after she insisted she was just as capable of carrying heavy things as he was.

Due to the extra supplies coming in, Ishida was handed a clipboard and a calculator and stationed near the unloading area. His job was to keep track of all the inventory coming in and to note down which company, retail outlet or individual donor they were from, together with the quantity, condition and expiry date of each item.

Orihime and Ichigo were asked to help at the kitchen where large amounts of fresh produce waited to be washed and prepared for tomorrow's meals. Two of their regular volunteers had called ahead to apologise that they had other family commitments this weekend.

\- o -

It was tiring and somewhat tedious work, but also fun. They got to chat with the other volunteers while they worked. Well, not so much Sado and Tatsuki since they needed to conserve their strength, and certainly not Ishida who needed to focus on his work. But the kitchen area was well lit, and had a warm and friendly atmosphere. The other four volunteers there were middle aged men and women who had time to spare now that their children were grown up.

Apart from learning the proper way to wash and cut vegetables (which he made a note to tell Yuzu tomorrow in case she didn't know), Ichigo also learned a few things about Orihime. He already knew that she made friends easily and wasn't surprised when she started chatting away with the others as if she had known them for years. But he didn't know how adept she was at handling a sharp knife.

She stood a few feet away from him with her long, auburn hair tucked under a hairnet. She was cutting up a large pile of washed and peeled potatoes, and half the time not even looking down at her hands.

Her soft, pretty hands.

Ichigo didn't realise his own movements had stilled as he stared at her, torn between admiring her skill and worrying that she would cut off her own fingers. Of course she wasn't a child anymore and she _could_ heal herself, but-

A tap on his arm made him blink and turn to the woman beside him.

"You're here to help us cut vegetables and not stare at a pretty face, Ichigo-kun."

"Oh, sorry!" Ichigo turned bright red as the others chuckled and Orihime blushed, finally staring down at the potatoes on her cutting board.

"Now, now, stop teasing him, Miyako-san," chided another lady before smiling at Ichigo. "Are you two dating?"

"Yeah," Ichigo muttered, glaring down at the innocent carrot on his cutting board.

"Well, Orihime-chan is a beauty," continued the motherly looking Miyako. Like Orihime, she didn't need to look at what she was cutting. "But you can stare at her later."

After that, Ichigo forced himself to concentrate on his given task. No doubt someone thought he would be extra good at carrots since they matched his hair colour.

Haha. Funny.

"Hey, do we really have to cut them up this small?" he asked, holding up a piece for inspection.

"Yes, that's the right size," came the reply. "We're cooking vegetable curry tomorrow and the smaller the pieces, the faster they cook. Besides, many of our regulars at the park are elderly people who don't have the teeth to chew hard food."

"Ah."

\- o -

Orihime couldn't stop smiling even though it was a Friday night and she was cutting potatoes instead of going out on a date. After all, she was still with Ichigo and they were doing something worthwhile.

She had been looking at Ichigo too, but covert glances under her lashes which went unnoticed. Ichigo may not be that good with vegetables, but he knew his way around a kitchen. More importantly, he made himself useful. He helped to carry heavy baskets of vegetables and mopped up spilled water at the sink without being asked.

Having finished with the potatoes, Orihime put down her knife and tucked a lock of hair back under her hairnet. She rolled her shoulders to ease the stiffness there before looking over at the unloading area. Sado and Tatsuki were sitting down, taking a short break before unpacking the boxes. She waved at them and got a grin and a wave from Tatsuki, and a thumbs up from Sado. Ishida looked up from his clipboard and offered a nod.

Orihime turned back to see the big pot of potatoes she had cut up being taken away. She heaved a sigh of relief only to blink when a basket of peeled onions was set in its place by Ichigo.

"Oh dear," she told him with a resigned smile. "These will make me cry."

"Me too," Ichigo said and after a quick glance around, squeezed her shoulder, "but I'll help you."

He kept his promise and stayed beside her since the woman who previously stood there had gone on to do other things.

Well, Orihime thought philosophically as the onion fumes stung her eyes and made her sniff, she could pretend they were on a date and watching a sad movie together, right?

"Just like watching a tearjerker, huh," Ichigo muttered as if he had read her mind. He was standing close enough for their arms to brush each other's.

"Better since it's for our Social Studies grade," Orihime added, smiling up at him and not really caring that her nose was starting to leak a bit. She was quite sure Ichigo didn't mind since he lowered his head, his gaze going to her lips before he grimaced and straightened up again.

"Later?" Orihime whispered, knowing what he wanted to do.

"Later," Ichigo promised, the gleam in his eyes making her blush.

\- o -

The manager came over after a while to check on their progress and thank them for their hard work. A bakery had just donated some unsold buns, a large bag of flour and another of red bean paste that were a couple of months from expiry. A supermarket had donated a few dented trays of eggs earlier, so in addition to tomorrow's dishes of vegetable curry, onigiri, meat stew and a fruit salad, they would also make _dorayaki_ , pancakes with red bean paste filling.

Orihime's beaming smile told Ichigo it was a good thing Ishida had also signed them up for tomorrow. He was sure they would end up here either way. Hopefully, their efforts would help them all get a high score for their Social Studies class.

The next two hours flew past and by eight o'clock, everything was done. The unused food had been kept away, the ingredients for tomorrow prepared and stored in the large refrigerators, the utensils washed, the counters wiped down, and the floor mopped clean. The volunteers then sat down for a well deserved break of hot tea and buns, and got to know each other a little more.

Half an hour later, Ichigo and his friends bade goodnight to the others and promised to be back tomorrow to help with the cooking and distributing of food.

\- o -

By eight thirty the next morning, all five of them were back at the facility, clad in T-shirts and jeans and ready for work. As soon as the manager and the others arrived, greetings were exchanged and they all got started. The ingredients were taken out from the refrigerators, and large pots and pans set on the stove.

Tatsuki helped to cook the vegetable curry while Sado helped with the meat stew, saying he had learned cooking from his late _abuelo_. A delighted Orihime was put in charge of making the dorayaki since the lady who usually made desserts wasn't available this weekend.

Ichigo immediately volunteered to help her. It never ceased to amaze him that nothing seemed to faze Orihime. She just laughed about how she had never before made such a huge quantity of anything in her life, but took it in stride, multiplying the amount of ingredients required from one of her favourite recipes, and getting Ichigo to start measuring them out.

The bag of sweet red bean paste was opened and set to one side. Entire trays of eggs were cracked into an enormous pot and mixed with sugar and honey. Then bowl after bowl of flour was added to make a pancake-like batter. Ichigo stirred the mixture while Orihime set up four non stick saucepans on the remaining four burners, creating a mini assembly line to fry the pancakes.

There wasn't much room to move around, what with the big pot of curry bubbling away at one end, and the equally big pot of stew beside it. Their cheeks were soon pink from the heat of the stove and each other, especially when Ichigo reached past Orihime to flip one of the pancakes in the furthest saucepan and found his arm brushing against prominent soft curves.

"Ah, sorry," he apologised at once, almost dropping the ladle. "I didn't mean..."

"It's, uhm... it's alright, Ichigo-kun," Orihime mumbled, cheeks turning even pinker. She glanced at him and then away, knowing they were both remembering the heated kisses on her birthday and how he had pressed so close to her.

They were both careful to stand further apart after that while frying the rest of the pancakes.

It took some time, and the curry and stew were both ready before the dorayaki. Ishida and Tatsuki helped the other volunteers to shape _onigiri_ from pots of freshly cooked rice, while Sado helped Ichigo and Orihime to sandwich red bean paste between two pancakes and press the edges to seal them.

Before they knew it, it was eleven o'clock. They all sat down for a rest and a quick lunch of rice, curry and dorayaki - everything tasted very good! - before helping to load the rest of the food into the waiting trucks. Then it was off to the park to distribute the results of their hard work.

\- o -

As soon as they arrived at the park, they took a moment to put on jackets and sweaters to ward off the autumn chill. Seeing a queue of hungry people already starting to form, the volunteers quickly set up foldable tables, making sure they were sturdy enough to hold the heavy pots of food. Others got out boxes of ladles and bowls. There were reusable ones for those who wanted to eat at the park, and disposable ones for those who wanted to eat at home.

Ichigo and the others also helped to serve the food, taking their cue from the regulars by politely greeting everyone they served and voicing the hope that they would enjoy the food. The grateful smiles and profuse thanks they received more than made up for all the tiring hours they had put in.

With such a long line of hungry people, Ishida started fretting that there wouldn't be enough food to go around. Much to everyone's relief, they finally served the last person waiting in line and still had half a dozen onigiri and four dorayaki left.

They then sat down to wait for the bowls and utensils to be returned to them. In the meantime, they looked around and took in the heartwarming sight of people happily tucking into the food they had cooked.

"Isn't this wonderful?" Orihime said, beaming.

"I didn't think I would enjoy myself this much," Tatsuki agreed.

"Me either," Ishida agreed and Sado nodded.

"Oh, look - there are more people coming!" Orihime exclaimed. She quickly jumped up to pack the rest of the food for the family with two young children, all of whom bowed deeply to her in thanks.

\- o -

An hour later, it was time to load the empty pots, trays and bowls back into the trucks and collect any rubbish from the area. The manager gathered all the volunteers together to thank them for their help. He also promised the five students he would send a glowing letter of praise to their Social Science teacher first thing Monday morning.

Ichigo and his friends thanked him and the others in return for their guidance and patience, and waved as the trucks left the park.

"You know," Ishida began and gave a diffident shrug. "We could maybe..."

"Do this again?" Sado finished for him.

"I was about to suggest the same thing!" Orihime exclaimed, clapping her hands.

"I don't mind," Ichigo said with a nod.

"Why not?" Tatsuki agreed, looking like she wanted to give Ishida a friendly punch in the arm. He took a prudent step back so she settled for giving one to Ichigo instead.

"Hey, what was that for?"

"It'll be fun! Right, Tatsuki?" Orihime's eyes sparkled as she nudged her best friend.

"As long as I don't have any karate lessons," Tatsuki replied.

"We don't have to do it every weekend though. Right?" Sado asked.

"Maybe once or twice a month?" Ichigo suggested.

"In that case, let's help an animal shelter next round," Sado suggested.

"Or an orphanage!" Orihime exclaimed.

"No, a recycling centre first!"

Shaking his head, Ichigo smiled to himself. It was just like hanging out with his friends, with the added bonus of doing something good for others.

They went on their separate ways after that to enjoy the rest of their weekend while Ichigo walked Orihime home as usual.

"That was a rather fun way to get good marks, wasn't it, Ichigo-kun?" Orihime asked happily, swinging their joined hands.

"More fun than doing homework for sure," Ichigo said.

He looked so solemn that Orihime wasn't quite sure if he was teasing her or not.

"I also learned something about you," she said.

He quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Like what?"

"Like how you're quite handy around the kitchen."

He looked a bit startled by that and then he gave a sheepish smile and shrugged.

"Well, Yuzu does most of the cooking. It's only fair that I help out where I can," he said.

Orihime beamed at him.

"You'll make a wonderful husband some day," she said and then she stopped walking, cheeks flushing pink.

Oops, she hadn't meant to say that... at least not out loud!

Ichigo turned to face her.

"Really?"

"Mhm hm!" Orihime nodded earnestly despite the blush on her face.

Ichigo gave her his crooked smile.

"That's good," he said and reached out to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. "Because _I_ think you'll make a wonderful wife some day."

Orihime stared at him with wide eyes, lips parted in surprise and fingers trembling in his grasp.

They were... they were still teasing each other, right?

Because although she had, as usual, spoken with thinking, his reply made it sound like he wanted more than just to date her. He wanted a future with her.

Her uncertainty must have shown on her face because Ichigo nodded.

"Some day," he promised and took a step closer, bending his head.

Even though they were still halfway to her home, and in full view of anyone who happened to walk by, Orihime met him halfway and was rewarded with a deep, loving kiss that promised a wonderful future for the two of them.

Surely one of her most cherished memories to date!

\- Story End -

 **A/N:** Thank you for reading! I got the idea of a soup kitchen from the famous Harvest Food Bank which has a branch in Tokyo. Among their varied and exemplary activities, they also cook and serve food to the homeless in Ueno Park in Tokyo every Saturday. I believe that's not too far from where the fictitious Karakura Town is supposed to be. As I haven't been to Japan or helped out at a soup kitchen before, please excuse my oversimplified descriptions and any errors you may find.

Please leave a review if you enjoyed reading this story, would love to hear from you :)


End file.
